RIO DE JANEIRO: In a significant move, G20 finance ministers have agreed to take steps towards addressing tax evasion by the super-rich, with a focus on strengthening individual nations’ taxation measures.
At the two-day meeting in Rio de Janeiro, ministers discussed financing the climate transition, debt, and taxation. While a global minimum tax on the wealthy was proposed, a compromise is expected, calling for countries to enhance their own taxation measures.
The agreement marks a first step towards international cooperation on taxing the super-rich, with a final declaration to be published soon. The declaration emphasizes the need for cooperative efforts to ensure ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed, citing wealth and income inequalities as obstacles to economic growth and social cohesion.
Economists and experts, including Gabriel Zucman and Joseph Stiglitz, have welcomed the move, urging further action to establish minimum standards by November. Greenpeace Brazil’s Camila Jardim stressed the need for the super-rich to contribute to climate crisis mitigation efforts.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the US and Brazil announced a climate protection partnership, highlighting the G20’s expanding focus on pressing global challenges.
Despite divisions within the G20, Brazil aims to publish three texts, including a joint communique, a document on international cooperation in tax matters, and a separate communique on geopolitical crises.